The Creek Big Band of 16 members (17 with band leader Blaine Dunaway) filled the stage in last weekend's kick off to the Festival of Wind Music at the Heritage Playhouse, presented by the Sunshine Coast Music Society.
The band members, all volunteers, are unpolished in their stage demeanour, but are not lacking in musicianship. They are a standard big band size - with five trumpets, three trombones, five saxophones (plus guest sax artist Joe Hatherill) and a rhythm section of keyboards, bass, vibraphone and drums.
Better program notes would have helped the audience understand the origins of big band music and would have explained how the classic tunes of Glen Miller differ from the more robust show tunes, such as All That Jazz. One of the key elements of band music is that it is carefully arranged - it does not have the free flow and tendency to improvisation of jazz music. However, it gives a good chance for solos.
The trombones, particularly, took the spotlight, in I Remember You. The Creek Big Band version was terrific, smooth and melodic. Some of the trumpets also soloed but were not mentioned in the program, nor was the band introduced. So, second guy from the right on the back row, you blew a pretty cool tune. Ken Grunenberg, whom everyone knows from his involvement, notably in Cedar Groove Quartet, was on top of his form with a few sax solos, and Hatherill also took the spotlight.
Vocalist Trudi Diening has a rich, thrilling voice but she was in danger of being swamped entirely by the horn section. By the second set, she had found her way through the big sound to give the audience such standards as Fly Me to the Moon and a bluesy Georgia on My Mind. Allan Crane of the Sunshine Coast Music Society would like to see this weekend of winds become an annual event. In this reviewer's opinion, before that can happen a few elements are needed: more background provided for the audience from an MC or from program notes - for that matter, more audience, plus wine and cheese at intermission. More importantly, I question the choice of venue, the Heritage Playhouse.
"Kind of a small dance floor," remarked one fellow, nodding at the non-existent space between the toe tapping dance band and the front row. The problem with the small venue became apparent the next day when Coquitlam's Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble (PSWE) brought their 45-member group to Gibsons. The front row audience was almost sitting in the lap of the principal clarinettist Mary Backun, who gave an excellent solo, and the full, vibrant sounds of the entire ensemble, under the direction of Marc Crompton, filled the theatre.
The program was diverse; it moved from Bernstein's West Side Story to the Chorale and Shaker Dance based on an older Shaker hymn. It closed with Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Jesters. One of the highlights for jazz fans was the performance of Cool, a contemporary piece based on the work of Miles Davis and written by David Branter. The composer was a founder of the PSWE and was on hand to conduct the piece in a high energy style that contrasted with Crompton's own relaxed manner.
Other highlights included a spotlight on the bassoons and the impressive French horn section. The PSWE has released a CD incorporating the music of Fred Stride, and they performed Impressions from Stride's repertoire.
For the $20 ticket price, the weekend's two concerts were a true bargain. Funds raised from the S.C. Music Society's activities go to advance musical education, particularly for young students.
